Tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah - Verse 48

After Allah reminded the Children of Israel of the favors that He has granted them, He warned them about the duration of the torment which He will punish them with on the Day of Resurrection. He said,

وَاتَّقُواْ يَوْمًا

(And fear a Day) meaning, the Day of Resurrection,

لاَّ تَجْزِى نَفْسٌ عَن نَّفْسٍ شَيْئًا

(When a person shall not avail another) meaning, on that Day, no person shall be of any help to another. Similarly, Allah said,

وَلاَ تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى

(And no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden) (35:18)

لِكُلِّ امْرِىءٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ

(Every man that Day will have enough to make him careless of others.) (80:37) and,

يأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمْ وَاخْشَوْاْ يَوْماً لاَّ يَجْزِى وَالِدٌ عَن وَلَدِهِ وَلاَ مَوْلُودٌ هُوَ جَازٍ عَن وَالِدِهِ شَيْئاً

(O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord (by keeping your duty to Him and avoiding all evil), and fear a Day when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father) (31: 33).

This indeed should serve as a great warning that both the father and the son will not be of help to each other on that Day.

Neither Intercession, Ransom, or Assistance will be accepted on behalf of the Disbelievers

Allah said,

وَلاَ يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَـعَةٌ

(nor will intercession be accepted from him)

meaning, from the disbelievers. Similarly, Allah said,

فَمَا تَنفَعُهُمْ شَفَـعَةُ الشَّـفِعِينَ

(So no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to them) (74:48) and described the people of the Fire saying,

فَمَا لَنَا مِن شَـفِعِينَ - وَلاَ صَدِيقٍ حَمِيمٍ

(Now we have no intercessors. Nor a close friend (to help us)) (26:100-101).

Allah's statement here (2:48)

وَلاَ يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ

(nor will compensation be taken from him) means, that Allah does not accept the disbelievers to ransom themselves. Similarly, Allah said,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَمَاتُواْ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِم مِّلْءُ الاٌّرْضِ ذَهَبًا وَلَوِ افْتَدَى بِهِ

(Verily, those who disbelieved, and died while they were disbelievers, the (whole) earth full of gold will not be accepted from anyone of them even if they offered it as a ransom) (3:91)

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْ أَنَّ لَهُمْ مَّا فِى الاٌّرْضِ جَمِيعاً وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ لِيَفْتَدُواْ بِهِ مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ مَا تُقُبِّلَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

(Verily, those who disbelieve, if they had all that is in the earth, and as much again therewith to ransom themselves from the torment on the Day of Resurrection, it would never be accepted of them, and theirs would be a painful torment) (5:36)

وَإِن تَعْدِلْ كُلَّ عَدْلٍ لاَّ يُؤْخَذْ مِنْهَآ

(And even if he offers every ransom, it will not be accepted from him) (6:70) and,

فَالْيَوْمَ لاَ يُؤْخَذُ مِنكُمْ فِدْيَةٌ وَلاَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مَأْوَاكُمُ النَّارُ هِىَ مَوْلَـكُمْ

(So this Day no ransom shall be taken from you (hypocrites), nor of those who disbelieved. Your abode is the Fire. That is your Mawla (friend ـ proper place)) (57:15).

Allah stated that if the people do not believe in His Messenger and follow what He sent him with, then when they meet Him on the Day of Resurrection, after remaining on the path of disbelief, their family lineage and/or the intercession of their masters will not help them at all. It will not be accepted of them, even if they paid the earth's fill of gold as ransom. Similarly, Allah said,

مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِىَ يَوْمٌ لاَّ بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلاَ خُلَّةٌ وَلاَ شَفَـعَةٌ

(Before a Day comes when there will be no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession) (2:254) and,

لاَّ بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلاَ خِلَـلٌ

(On which there will be neither mutual bargaining nor befriending) (19:31). Allah's statement next,

وَلاَ هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ

(nor will they be helped.) means, "no person shall get angry - or anxious - on their behalf and offer them any help, or try to save them from Allah's punishment." As stated earlier on that Day, neither the relative, nor persons of authority will feel pity for the disbelievers, nor will any ransom be accepted for them. Consequently, they will receive no help from others and they will be helpless themsleves. Allah said,

وَهُوَ يُجْيِرُ وَلاَ يُجَارُ عَلَيْهِ

(While He (Allah) grants refuge (or protection), but none grants refuge from Him) (23:88)

فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لاَّ يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُ أَحَدٌ - وَلاَ يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُ أَحَدٌ

(So on that Day none will punish as He will punish. And none will bind (the wicked, disbelievers and polytheists) as He will bind) (89:25-26)

مَا لَكُمْ لاَ تَنَـصَرُونَ - بَلْ هُمُ الْيَوْمَ مُسْتَسْلِمُونَ

("What is the matter with you Why do you not help one another (as you used to do in the world)" Nay, but that Day they shall surrender) (37:25-26) and,

فَلَوْلاَ نَصَرَهُمُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُواْ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ قُرْبَاناً ءَالِهَةَ بَلْ ضَلُّواْ عَنْهُمْ

(Then why did those whom they had taken for alihah (gods) besides Allah, as a way of approach (to Allah) not help them Nay, but they vanished completely from them) (46:28).

Also, Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas said that Allah's statement,

مَا لَكُمْ لاَ تَنَـصَرُونَ

("What is the matter with you Why do you not help one another") (37:25) means, "This Day, you shall not have a refuge from Us. Not this Day." Ibn Jarir said that Allah's statement,

وَلاَ هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ

(nor will they be helped.) meaning, on that Day, they shall neither be helped by any helper, nor shall anyone intercede on their behalf. No repeal or ransom will be accepted for them, all courtesy towards them will have ceased, along with any helpful intercession. No type of help or cooperation will be available for them on that Day. The judgment will, on that Day, be up to the Most Great, the Most Just, against whom no intercessor or helper can ever assist. He will then award the evil deed its kind and will multiply the good deeds. This is similar to Allah's statement,

وَقِفُوهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ مَّسْئُولُونَ - مَا لَكُمْ لاَ تَنَـصَرُونَ - بَلْ هُمُ الْيَوْمَ مُسْتَسْلِمُونَ

(But stop them, verily, they are to be questioned. "What is the matter with you Why do you not help one another" Nay, but that Day they shall surrender) (37:24-26).

Verse 47 asks the Israelites to call to their minds the blessing of Allah, so that the recognition of the benefits they have received may induce them to be thankful to Allah and thus to obey Him. The verse is addressed to the Jews contemporaneous with the Holy Prophet ﷺ while the blessing had been received by their forefathers. The point is that when a man receives a special favour, his children and grand children too usually partake of the benefits flowing from it; in this sense, the Jews who are being addressed may be said to have received the blessing themselves.

As for Allah giving preference to the Israelites "over the worlds", the phrase means that they were given preference only in certain matters, or only over a large part of men - for example, over the contemporaries of the earlier Israelites.

The day referred to in verse 48 is the Day of Judgment. As for no one being able to suffice another on that day, the phrase should be understood in the sense of one man paying the dues on behalf of another man. Let us, for example, suppose that a man is found wanting in the performance of obligatory acts of worship like Salah نماز and Sawm صوم (fasting), and another man should suggest that his own prayers and fasts may be transferred to the account of the former in order to make up the deficiency. Such a transaction shall not be possible on that day. Ransom, of course, means the money paid for securing the release of a criminal - this too shall be out of the question. As for intercession (shafa-` ah شفاعہ) not being accepted, the phrase does not totally deny the possibility of intercession on the Day of Judgment; it only means that if a man does not have 'Iman ایمان (faith), no intercession in his favour shall be accepted. For the Holy Qur'an makes it clear in certain other verses that Allah will allow intercession to be made on behalf of some people (53:26, 34:23, 2:55 etc.), and will disallow it in the case of those who do not possess 'Iman ایمان (21:28, 20:109). Since there would be no intercession on behalf of the latter, the question of its being accepted does not simply arise. 'Receiving support', in usual terms, means getting oneself released from a difficult situation with the help of a strong and powerful friend or patron. In short, none of the ways of receiving help possible in this world will be effective in the other world unless one possesses 'Iman ایمان .

A doctrinal point

On the basis of verse 48, the Mu'tazilah and some other groups of a more recent origin have denied the possibility of all intercession in favour of Muslims. But, as we have shown above, the negation of intercession applies only to disbelievers and infidels. (Bayan al-Qur an)

The Israelites were chosen by God. He selected them for a special task: they were to receive God’s scriptures and pass His commandments on to the rest of mankind. In relation to this office, they were granted many other blessings and facilities: victory over their enemies, forgiveness of their sins, special help in times of peril, divine provision for their physical needs, and so on. This misled later generations of Jews into thinking that they were God’s chosen people, and were assured of salvation in the next world. But such matters as salvation are not a hereditary right of any group. Successive generations are to be judged on their own merits. On the Day of Judgement people will be judged individually, according to their actions. To think that anything other than good deeds will avail one, is to underestimate the rigours of that Day.